From the
North County Times:
When autopsies and toxicology screens can't explain how a person died, toxicologists can turn to the fluid in a dead person's eye for answers.
Using new equipment and screening techniques, forensic toxicologists can perform tests that often are the only way to detect causes of death, such as diabetes or kidney disease, when no other cause is obvious.
The improved screening also could provide life-saving information for victims' families.
For example, a
postmortem diagnoses of a hereditary disease such as diabetes might be a family's first warning that members are at risk.
Toxicologists began testing blood and fluid, or "vitreous," from the eye for abnormal chemical levels that could indicate diabetes or kidney failure.
Eventually, analysis could use the machines to measure insulin levels, detect thyroid disorders and determine how long someone had been suffering from untreated or inadequately treated diabetes.